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Back when “Saturday Night Live’ was consistently funny – and yes, this used to be a thing – there was a particular idol-skewering episode of “Celebrity Jeopardy” where Will Ferrell’s Alex Trebek was so outdone by the sheer stupidity of the contestants that he tells them they get points if they just write anything. Anything at all.

And they still can’t do it.

There should be no reason that “American Idol,” which even in its current downturn still purports to painstakingly select the most promising young (too young?) singers in America, should remind me of that sketch. But boy does it.

Compare it to NBC’s “The Voice,” which still doesn’t have the track record of post-show success stories that “Idol” does, but at least manages to convince the audience that the singers in competition are among the best out there. Maybe not THE best, because there are likely stellar vocalists that never even made it to the blind auditions because they didn’t get far enough in the casting process for not fitting a niche or a storyline. But even “The Voice”‘s pitchiest performances are mostly by singers just having a bad day. Some are better than others.

But “The Voice”‘s coaches don’t usually ever have to remind people to sing in tune. I mean, that’s like having a show called “American Diver” and pass over excellent divers who don’t fit a certain image in favor of some pretty kid who just goes to the end of the board and belly flops every week while the judges say “That will be so much netter when you learn to dive.”

WHY AM I WATCHING YOU LEARN HOW TO DIVE? Or sing, in this case? You wouldn’t go into a bar where C.J. Harris was singing off-key, based purely on his singing, so why should he be on TV? It’s maddening.

Just like with “Celebrity Jeopardy,” ”American Idol” is usually chock full of themes that stretch the contestants. But they seem to have recognized too late that their handpicked finalists have either so little personality, ability to connect with the words coming out of their mouths, or in the case of C.J. Harris, a basic understanding of pitch and how to find it. So they’ve pretty much made every week “Sing A Song Week. Any Song.” Last night’s “Little Bit Country/Little Bit Rock and Roll” night was a little better, but it continued to highlight each contestants’ weaknesses – Sam is beautiful with the angelic voice to match but is uncomfortable and can’t connect to a love song, no matter how much they want him to be a heartthrob. Alex is a masterful musician and arranger, but with the exception of “You Were Always On My Mind,” doesn’t give the lyrics much thought. Jessica has no light behind her eyes, and can’t even bother to imbue an emotional gimme like “Jolene,” which spells it out that you should be begging someone please not to take your man, with any feeling more crucial than “I’m kinda annoyed you took the last McMuffin.”

“Idol” has tried to wring every bit of something interesting out of them, to find a there, but I don’t think there’s a there, there, in some cases. Even with its heralded revamping and the reign of truth-telling judge Harry Connick Jr., the producers just couldn’t help meddling by selecting a diverse group of cute, shiny young shinesters who just aren’t people you’d stay for another drink to see after Happy Hour, let alone pay money to see. They aren’t ready.

And that’s the show’s fault.

I have a feeling that the reason so many of these kids can’t connect to an audience is because the Internet culture has made personal connection beside the point. Back in the day, people used to talk about singing into a hairbrush in front of your mirror in your bedroom, implying that this solitary experience might demonstrate how you love singing, but doesn’t translate into how well you’ll do in front of people, and that in the privacy of your own experience, there’s no one to connect to or tell you that you’re wrong. YouTube has become a launching pad for so many musical hopefuls, including some on “Idol,” bringing down that bedroom wall and letting the world, including fans and people who cast TV talent shows, see and judge you.

But it doesn’t matter how nice your camera is, or how many likes you get. Singing in your house, being in your head, doesn’t prepare you for staying on the beat when the people in the front row are swaying or clapping off-beat. It doesn’t teach you how to deal with crowds, or with people talking in the audience while you’re trying to sing, or mic problems or falling behind the band. That piece of experience has been removed for some of these kids and they’ve been thrust into this glaring spotlight without the tools to navigate this. That’s why Caleb Johnson, who at 23 has been performing for a while, excels in this field, because he’s already got the “how to sing and perform in public” part down and is just trying to get better. Jena Irene, too, is getting better every week, and that’s exciting to see. C.J….I have no idea what he’s doing there. He seems sweet enough, but he just doesn’t sing well enough to be cast in his high school production of “Rent,” let alone have a national showcase.

I have no idea how many more seasons “Idol” has in it, but if this is the future of their casting process, or even of the kids who are auditioning for the show, they should just cancel it…You know what? That’s not true. There were clearly better singers than this in the auditions, and for whatever reason (I believe it’s age) they didn’t get there. It’s funny that the show brought back David Cook and Chris Daughtry as celebrity mentors this year, because they were everything these kids, for the most part, aren’t – experienced musicians with a vast musical vocabulary and an ability to sell a song. (They were also both sexy men singing rock songs that were often about relationships or sex. Compare that to beautiful Sam, who isn’t convincing as someone who has ever been on a date or even started a conversation with a stranger, or Jessica, whose go-to emotion is scowling.

“The Voice’ is too long and has too many stupid battle rounds, and the judges talk too much. But almost every week, I think “I can’t wait to hear what Sissaundra does this week!” or “What’s Josh got for us this week?” On “Idol,” besides Caleb and Jena, I’m not excited for the overall performance, although I’m always hopeful that Alex is going to, as he did last night, finally match his stellar musicality to an emotionally satisfying song, and hopeful that maybe C.J. will match is sweet personality with some good singing. Which is why he’s supposed to be there.